Automatic hair clipping attachment



March 17, 1936. D. w. BULLER v 2,034,13E

AUTOMATIC HAIR CLIPPING ATTACHMENT Filed Oct. 25, 1954 WWWHEBIHEWW BRMMMIIMHH INVENTOR. DAV/D W. BULL ER A TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 17, 1936 UNITED s'rsrss PATENT oFF IcE 14 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic hair clipping attachments, and it consists of the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide an automatic hair clipping attachment which is an improvement over the form of my invention shown in my co-pending application Serial Number 634,051, filed September 20, 1932 now Pat. No. 1,982,979. In the said application I show a guard and a spacer associated with the teeth of the clipper, the parts being so arranged that a tilting of the body of the clipper into different angular positions with respect to the surface being clipped will cause the cutting teeth to be moved toward or away from the surface, and thus to vary the length of the cut hair. With this arrangement the barber can shingle the hair while moving the clipper over the head, and the taper of the shingling can be controlled at will.

In the present form of the invention I provide the guard and spacer for the clipper but the mechanism for moving the guard and spacer is disposed on the side of the clipper body instead of on top. This gives more freedom for the clipper and the barber can watch the clipping operation with no obstruction to his vision by the clipper attachment.

In the present device the movement between the guard and the spacer is altered so that the initial moving of the guard with respect to the cutting teeth will be parallel with the plane of the teeth, after which the guard will start to move away from the teeth so as to space the teeth from the surface being cut. From this arrangement a more gradual tapering of the shingling of the hair is the result. Means is also provided for altering the guard moving mechanism so that the guard can be initially moved to a predetermined distance away from the cutting teeth without moving the guard forwardly beyond the ends of the teeth. This permits the barber to cut the hair around the temples and ears, so that the hair will be longer in length than the shingled hair at the back of the neck. If the guard were moved in advance of the ends of the cutting teeth before it could be moved away from the teeth, it would be impossible to use the clippers with the attachment in cutting hair around the ears.

I further provide a stop for limiting the movement of the guard toward the cutting teeth. The device is simple in construction and can be quickly attached or detached from the standard clipper. The same screws which secure the bottom cutter to the clipper body are used in securing the supporting plate to the clipper body. The attachment can then be r'emovably secured to the plate.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device showing it operatively applied to a clipper body;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation looking at the attachment from the opposite side to that shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 and shows theattachment in a different position from that shown in'Figurel; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the attachment supporting plate.

In carrying out my invention I make use of a standard clipper indicated generally at I, and this clipper has an upper set of cutting teeth 2 which are reciprocated by a means within the clipper body not shown. A switch 3 electrically connects the clipper actuating means with a source of current.

-The lower clipper teeth 4 are secured to the body I by screws 5, see Figure 5, and the base 6 of the lower teeth or comb 4 is recessed at I for receiving a bottom portion 8 of a support 9. The portion 8 has openingsfor receiving the same screws 5, and in this simple way the support 9 is permanently secured to the clipper body.

The sides I0 and H of the support or bracket 9 are bent at right angles to the portion 8, and. are shown in Figures 1, 3 and 5. The side III has an arm I2 with a pin l3 extending outwardly. In like manner the side II has an arm H! with a pin l5 extending outwardly therefrom:

I provide a spacer l6 which is U-shaped and which has an arm I! provided with an opening I 8 for receiving the pin. I3, and which also has a second arm I9 provided with an opening for receiving the pin 15. The spacer is designed to pivot on the pins 13 and I5.

The pivoting of the spacer is controlled by the mechanism now to be described;

A guard 2| .is' disposed below the cutting teeth 4 and arms 22 and 23 are pivoted to the guard and in turn are pivoted to the arms I! and 19' by means of pins. and 25 that are carried by the arms.22 and 23 respectively. Figure 1 shows the arm 22 as being extended beyond the pin 24 and as having a forked end 26. The slot 21 in the forked end is angular in shape as shown in the drawing and the slot slidably receives a pin 28.

Figures 1 and 4 show the pin 28 as being mounted on a bell crank lever 29. This lever is pivoted at 30 to the arm ID.

The arm pivotally carries at 3| a bell crank lever 32, and this lever can be swung into the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 so as to engage with the arm l9 and limit the swinging of the arm in a clockwise direction when looking at Figure 3.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

When the attachment is used it assumes the position shown in Figure 1. The barber now places the clipper against the back of the neck so that the clipper body is substantially perpendicular to the surface being clipped. The guard and spacer will be in the position shown in Figure 1, and the guard will permit the clipper teeth 2 and 4 to closely contact with the neck and therefore clip the hair short. As the clipper is moved upwardly over the back of the head the barber gradually swings the clipper body downwardly at an angle, and this will cause the guard 2| and the spacer 6 to assume the position shown in Figure 4. It will be seen from this figure that the guard 2| is considerably in advance of the ends of the cutting teeth 2 and 4. The thickness of the guard will space the cutting teeth away from the surface being clipped and the result will be a coarser clipping of the hair. Due to the gradual swinging of the clipper body into an angular position with respect to the surface of the head as the clipper is moved upwardly along the back of the head, a shingling effect of the hair will result.

The angular slot 27 rides along the pin 28 during the movement of the guard 2| and the spacer Hi from the position shown in Figure 1 into the position shown in Figure 4. This angular arrangement of the slot 21 will cause the guard 2| to move forwardly in a plane parallel to the plane of the cutting teeth before it starts to move away from the cutting teeth. This will provide a more gradual shingling of the hair. It is this feature which is an improvement over the form of the invention shown in my co-pending application. Should the clipper body he turned at still a greater angle to the head, than that shown in Figure 4, the guard 2| would move away from the cutter teeth 2 and 4 and increase the coarseness of the cut.

The point at which the guard 2| ceases to move in a plane parallel to the plane of the cutting teeth and starts to move away from the cutting teeth can be altered by the mere adjustment of the lever 29 about the pivot 3!). This will alter the position of the pin 28 and the pin in turn will affect the swinging of the arms 22 and 23.

Should the operator desire: to provide a coarse clipping of the hair around the ears and temples without advancing the guard 2| forwardly beyond the cutting ends of the teeth 2 and 4, the lever 29 can be adjusted so that the forward end of the guard will be disposed approximately even with the forward end of the cutting teeth 2 and. 4, while at the same time theguard is spaced away from the cutting end of the teeth. In order to prevent the guard from moving closer to the teeth while clipping the hair of the temples and around the ears, I swing the stop lever 32 by means of the handle 33 until the portion 34 contacts with the arm I 9. The portion 34 when contacting with the arm l9 as shown by the dotted lines, prevents movement of the guard 2| into abutting relation with the bottom of the cutting teeth 4. This will assure the barber that the same coarseness of out can be made on the hair covering both temples and also on the hair disposed adjacent to the ears. A shingling effect can still be obtained by rocking the clipper body angularly about the guard 2| and spacer Hi.

The arms |2 and M extend a sufficient distance beyond the arms 22 and 23 so that the barber can grasp these arms and move them toward each other for freeing the pins l3 and I from the openings l8 and 20. This will permit the guard 2| and the spacer IE to be removed from the clipper body and the clipper body can be used in the usual manner. In the same simple Way the clipper attachment can be again pivotally secured to the pins I3 and I5 by springing the arms |2 and I4 toward each other, and then aligning the pins l3 and IS with theopenings I8 and 20, and then freeing the arms.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, a guard designed to contact with the surface being clipped and to space the cutting teeth from the surface, a spacer also designed to contact with the same surface, and means entirely disposed at the sides of the clipper and pivotally connecting the guard and spacer with the clipper for moving the cutting teeth away from the surface being clipped in direct ratio to the angle the clipper body assumes with the surface, said means causing the teeth to clip close to the surface when the clipper body is ,disposed substantially perpendicular to the surface, and to gradually clip at greater distances from the surface as the body is gradually swung toward a position paralleling the surface.

2. The combination with a clipper having cutting teeth, a guard and a spacer both pivotally secured together and to the clipper, said guard and spacer contacting with the surface being clipped, and means disposed at the sides of the clipper and actuated by the gradual swinging of the clipper body from a perpendicular position into an angular position with respect to the surface being clipped for initially moving the guard parallel with and forwardly of the cutting teeth, and then for moving the guard away from the teeth for spacing the teeth from the surface.

3. The combination with a clipper having cutting teeth, a guard and a spacer both pivotally secured together and to the clipper, said guard and spacer contacting with the surface being clipped, and means disposed at the sides of the clipper and actuated by the gradual swinging of the clipper body from a perpendicular position into an angular position with respect to the surface being clipped for initially moving the guard parallel with and forwardly of the cutting teeth, and then for moving the guard away from the teeth for spacing the teeth from the surface, said means being adjustable for altering the distance the guard moves forwardly beyond the teeth before it moves away from the teeth.

4. The combination with a clipper having cutting teeth, a guard and a spacer both pivotally secured together and to the clipper, said guard and spacer contacting with the surface being clipped, and actuated by the gradual swinging of the clipper body from a perpendicular position into an angular position with respect to the surface being clipped for initially moving the guard parallel with and forwardly of the cutting teeth, and then for moving the guard away from the teeth for spacing the teeth from the surface, and adjustable means for altering the distance the guard moves forwardly beyond the teeth before it moves away from the teeth during the swinging of the clipper body.

5. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a spacer pivoted to the clipper, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, and a pin slidable in the forked arm for moving the guard forward of the teeth when the clipper body is swung from a substantially perpendicular position to the surface being clipped toward a position paralleling the surface.

6. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a spacer pivoted to the clipper, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, and a pin slidable in the forked arm for moving the guard forward of the teeth when the clipper body is swung from a substantially perpendicular position to the surface being clipped toward a position paralleling the surface, and means for adjusting the pin for varying the movement of the guard.

'7. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a spacer pivoted to the clipper, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, and a pin slidable in the forked arm for moving the guard forward of the teeth when the clipper body is swung from a substantially perpendicular position to the surface being clipped toward a position paralleling the surface, said forked arm having an angle slot for causing the initial movement of the guard to parallel the plane of the cutting teeth.

8. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a spacer pivoted to the clipper, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, and a pin slidable in the forked arm for moving the guard forward of the teeth when the clipper body is swung from a substantially perpendicular position to the surface being clipped toward a position paralleling the surface, said forked arm having an angle slot for causing the initial movement of the guard to parallel the plane of the cutting teeth, and means for adjusting the pin for varying the movement of the uard.

9. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a spacer pivoted to the clipper, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, and a pin slidable in the forked arm for moving the guard forward of the teeth when the clipper body is swung from a substantially perpendicular position to the surface being clipped toward a position paralleling the surface, and means for limiting the movement of the guard toward the cutting teeth.

10. The combination with a hair clipper having cutting teeth, of a support secured to the clipper and having arms straddling the clipper body, a spacer pivoted to the arms, a guard pivoted to the spacer and having a forked arm, a pin slidable in the forked arm, said spacer and guard being freed from the support arms when the arms are moved toward each other.

11. The combination with a hair clipper, a spacer designed to contact with a persons head, an auxiliary comb guard, arms pivotally connecting said spacer and the guard, an extension carried by one of the arms and having a slot therein, a pin adapted to ride in said slot and regulate the movement of the spacer.

12. The combination with a hair clipper, a spacer designed to contact with a person's head, an auxiliary comb guard, arms pivotally connecting said spacer and the guard, an extension carried by one of the arms and having a curved slot therein, a pin adapted to ride in said slot and regulate the movement of the spacer.

13. The combination with a hair clipper, a bracket attached to said clipper, a pair of yieldable prongs integral with said bracket and having pivots thereon, a spacer carried by said pivots, and an auxiliary comb guard pivotally connected to said spacer.

14. The combination with a hair clipper, an auxiliary comb guard, a spacer, arms pivotally connecting said guard and spacer, a bracket attached to said clipper and having a pair of yieldable prongs, pivots carried by said prongs and supporting the spacer, the prongs being adapted to yield when pressed and disengage the spacer.

DAVID W. BULLER. 

